Foley and the Association of Media & Entertainment Counsel (AMEC) hosted a Web conference update on the strike by the Writers Guild of America (WGA).
The pencils went down two months ago when the WGA struck the studios and networks. Now the poison pens have been drawn in a public relations battle between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The work stoppage is already beginning to have an impact on how business is done in Hollywood.
With the networks unable to offer any new programs, the Television Critics Association has cancelled its 2008 press tour. NBC is contemplating not broadcasting the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globes awards ceremony, and all the networks are on the verge of canceling the annual industry rite known as the May upfronts held in New York City. Recently, the WGA negotiated an interim agreement with David Letterman’s production company and United Artists, the independent film company for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. (MGM).
The AMPTP hopes that it can quickly close a deal with the Directors Guild in their upcoming negotiations and that will then serve as the template for all future contracts including the WGA. Like many other aspects of this strike, that outcome is not a foregone conclusion as the issue of payment for content made for or re-used on the Internet is as significant an issue for the directors as for the writers.
Wherever the AMPTP and the WGA end up on their agreement, these developments show in a practical way that the parties will return to a transformed television business. In this program, a panel of industry experts and insiders discussed the current impasse between the writers and the studios. Additionally, the panel discussed the following important issues:
- At this stage, which side has the most to lose and to gain?
- How will the Directors Guild negotiations with the studios impact the strike?
- Who is winning the public relations campaign, and what impact will it have on the eventual resolution of the strike?
- Can the WGA now possibly agree to a contract that does not include jurisdiction over reality programming for the WGA?
- What is the impact of the strike on time-honored aspects of the entertainment industry such as the pilot season, upfronts, and annual press junkets?
- What is the permanent damage to the industry in terms of lost jobs for the WGA, lost advertising revenues for the studios, and the impact on related ancillary businesses?
- How significant are the WGA interim agreements with Letterman’s production company and United Artists?
- What does the WGA’s refusal to grant waivers for the Golden Globes mean for the business?
- What will the impact of the strike be on the international competitive position of the studios?
- The entertainment business is a close knit industry but will the strike permanently rupture the very relationships that make it function so profitably?
- What happens if the strike lasts, as some predict, for six months or longer?
Moderator
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James D. (Jimmy) Nguyen, Partner, Entertainment & Media Industry Team, Foley
Panelists
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Carole E. Handler, Vice Chair, IP Litigation Practice, Foley
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Arnold P. Peter, Founding Partner, Raskin Peter Rubin & Simon
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M. Kenneth (Ken) Suddleson, Of Counsel and Chair, Entertainment & Media Group, Foley
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Sallie Weaver, Principal, Entertainment Strategies Group
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David White, Managing Principal, Entertainment Strategies Group